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Dramatic Window Treatments

The main attraction in this living room is clearly the geometric patterned ceiling. And stationary, soft-pleat panels hung at ceiling height do nothing to steal the spotlight. In fact, they help draw the eye up to the room's canopy. Simple sheers and chocolate brown Roman shades do the work of light control and privacy when needed.

When a room's personality comes from stylish pops of color, let window treatments help. Note the bottom third of these grommetted camel-color panels. Red fabric stitched at the same height as the molding adds to the color scheme and carries the low, horizontal line of the living room across the windows, creating more flow.

An angled wall of French doors and windows is made more welcoming with the softness of tall fabric panels in a pleasing pattern. But the vertical yellow bands command attention here, echoing the height of the living room and allowing the sunny accent hue to carry more dramatic weight.

With an eye-catching blue wall color and contrasting white fluted moldings around each window, this library hardly needs curtains to add drama. But just like a silk scarf lends that extra something special to a favorite outfit, the navy blue and gold swags on these windows offer a final flourish. The precise pleating is a nod to traditional style, while the off-center hanging length helps frame the distinctly mod Marilyn Monroe artwork between the windows.

When an inviting living room is layered in soft neutrals, a formal window treatment can handle a dose of pattern. Here, gathered drapery panels and a graceful valance share the same medium-scale patterned fabric.

Lightweight sheers in vibrant coral and hot pink stripes zing across this dining room's wall of windows on a simple wire. Pushed aside for an everyday look, they add drama when pulled closed for an intense wall of color.

The choice to use Roman shades within the frames of this tall bank of windows accentuates the curve of the wall and highlights the molding detail above the windows. The symmetrical shades also keep the dramatic spotlight on the grand piano adjacent to the dining area.

Long, heavily pleated drapery panels and a matching straight valance in soft wheat cotton could be a simple treatment that quietly stands in the background of this welcoming living room. But adding the interlocking detail-borrowed from the armchairs-to each end of the valance takes the style up a notch or two. The kick pleats on the corners of the valance add another stylish detail.

Want all-out opulence on your windows? Indulge in passamenterie. It's a French term that refers to the tassels, cording, braids, and other intricate trims often used on formal window treatments. In this grand dining room, silk panels and gathered swags are edged in scrumptious drop-bead trim. The crowning touch, however, is a pair of golden cornices that are right at home in this formal space.

Here's an old decorator's trick: Make windows appear grander and taller than they really are by hanging window treatments above the top of the window frame. A rod placed at ceiling height allows panels to cascade the length of the wall, adding grandeur to a tidy eat-in kitchen dining nook.

With a unique arched window like this one as a focal point, you don't want a window treatment that competes. Instead, pinch-pleat drapery panels with a fashionable tassel and cord cinching at table height frame the arched feature perfectly.

With a dramatic scarlet hue on the walls, this dining room didn't really need matching drapes for impact. In fact, natural Roman shades cover the windows, so floor-to-ceiling panels are really an indulgence. And who couldn't use some of that? Sumptuous folds of red velvet are the epitome of dining elegance.

Bay windows are often left bare because they can be a bear to cover with window treatments. But here, an angled rod holds rich pumpkin velvet panels with simple rings. By letting the panels fall below the bottom of the windows to the floor, this dining area gets a dose of softness as well as drama.